I've never had their soups either, as I go through 2 bowls of their salad all by myself! My son's had the pasta fagiole, and says it's good. All I know is that this recipe is really worth making. Expect compliments!

just curious "pasta fagioli" translates pasta beans.

is this pasta made from a type of beans, or is it a soup that includes both pasta and beans, "pasta e fagioli"?

It's a thick soup - almost a stew sometimes - made with both pasta and beans. There are a number of variations, but the most frequently found use short tubular pasta & either red or white kidney beans (Cannelini).